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Water spill at oil and gas site was fresh water

El Paso County inspectors say there were no hazardous materials released in spill of 1.8 million gallons of water at an oil and gas exploration site in the eastern part of the county.

This was at an oil and gas exploration site run by Hilcorp Energy Company on Meyers Road. Hilcorp reported the failure of two large water storage tanks to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which is required under their permit."These large temporary tank structures were used only for the storage of fresh water used in the exploration process," explains Senior Assistant County Attorney Diana May, who severs as the local government designee to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "There were no chemicals or salts contained in the tanks; there was some disturbance of soil and vegetation in the immediate area but no damage to structures or injuries."

County officials say it's likely that Hilcorp will be issued, "a notice of violation by COGCC as a result of this equipment failure," according to a press release.

The company has said it lost about 75,000 barrels of water (1.8 million gallons). According to county officials the water used for exploration purposes in this area is purchased from privately-owned commercial wells.

The attached photo from the Associated Press show an oil rig in Kansas, unrelated to the spill in El Paso County.